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Pindar anticipating poor group results despite improvement in UK print arm accounts

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Pindar's UK print arm has reported a pre-tax loss of 527,000 for the year ending 30 September 2009, a figure that marks a significant improvement on its 1.3m loss of the previous year.

Chairman Andrew Pindar told PrintWeek that the firm's figures are "okay considering that everyone else is losing money", but added that while the company is "upbeat", its soon-to-be-published group results (GA Pindar & Son) "won't be nearly as pretty".

The PLC's sales fell 10% in 2009, compared with the previous year. However, the firm pointed out that the downturn, in which turnover fell from £63.4m in 2008 to £57.2m in 2009, was due to the inclusion of figures for Screenpages and Cooper Clegg before their sale.

"The good news is that we've given a strong performance in the past six months," Pindar said. In its accounts, the company reported that it had won more paper-supplied business over the 2009 financial year and that activity levels at its main plant had increased due to a move to a seven day working week on some machines.

Meanwhile, operating profit rocketed more than 3,700% for the year, from £15,000 in 2008 to £574,000 in 2009.

In the directors report accompanying the accounts, Pindar noted: "While the industry has seen further turmoil since the year end, the directors believe that the company is well placed to meet the opportunities that will inevitably arise."

Pindar added that the company would continue to focus on "cost control and production efficiencies" and "optimising customer loyalty".

The accounts record a £27.5m deficit in the company's pension scheme, compared with a £16m deficit in 2008, although the cost of reducing this deficit is due to be met by parent company GA Pindar & Son, which will pay £500,000 into the scheme in the current financial year, followed by £2.2m in 2011/12 and £2.3m in 2012/13.

The group results, which will be published in the near future, will include figures for Pindar's sister firm AlphaGraphics.

In February, Pindar announced that its chief executive, Andrew Dalton would step down in March as part of a management restructure. Dalton was indirectly replaced by Andrew Holmes. Holmes, who has a background in law, joined as Pindar's chief operating officer on 23 February from Scarborough Building Society, where he was operations director.

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